Despite European Union sanctions designed to choke off Russia’s oil revenues, tankers flying Greek flags continue to operate at Russian ports on the Baltic Sea. Oil tankers registered in Greece have been spotted in Russian ports, and these ships contribute to oil exports from Russia, according to a report from Axar.az citing the Finnish publication Yle.
The Greek-registered vessel Velos Topaz was spotted at the port of Ust-Luga (also referred to as Laukansyu) on Saturday, December 13, one of Russia’s most critical oil export facilities. According to the MarineTraffic service, another Greek tanker, the Irini, was off the coast of St. Petersburg.
Russia evades sanctions through a “shadow fleet”-vessels registered in countries that are not members of the EU. Often, the real owners of these shadow fleet ships are hidden behind a complex chain of companies. However, as confirmed by maritime experts from Traficom, the oil tankers currently in the Baltic Sea are registered in Greece. This does not mean the ships violate European sanctions.
How this remains legal
The key detail here is that EU-flagged vessels can still transport Russian oil under specific conditions. First, these tankers cannot deliver Russian oil to EU countries. The Greek tanker Minerva Julie, which previously visited Ust-Luga, is currently heading to Taiwan, not a European port.
Second, the value of the oil cargo must remain below the price cap established by sanctions. The idea is to prevent Russia from replenishing its war budget through high-priced oil sales while still allowing some oil flow to avoid global market disruptions.
Russia has been circumventing broader sanctions restrictions through its “shadow fleet”—vessels registered in countries outside the EU that operate with murky ownership structures and often dubious safety standards.
Sanctions starting to bite
On December 13, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed a decree imposing sanctions on 656 vessels identified as part of Russia’s shadow fleet. The U.S. has also ramped up pressure. In October, the first sanctions under President Donald Trump’s second administration targeted Russia’s largest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil.
The Office of Foreign Assets Control stated these sanctions were imposed “due to Russia’s lack of serious commitment to the peace process to end the war in Ukraine.”
There are signs the strategy is working, at least partially. By October 30, Ukrainian military intelligence reported Russia’s oil refining had declined by 18-20%. The Moscow Times reported in early November that Russia’s federal budget revenues from oil and gas fell by 21.4%—dropping from 9.54 trillion rubles to 7.5 trillion rubles ($92.4 billion) over the first 10 months of the year.
By mid-November, the U.S. Treasury Department confirmed that sanctions on Rosneft and Lukoil were already reducing Russia’s revenues and would likely cut oil sales volumes long-term.
Complex evasion tactics
Even under pressure, Russian oil continues finding buyers. Bloomberg reported on December 9 that a shipment of Russian oil from the sanctioned Rosneft arrived in China after a complicated journey involving a transfer off the coast of India and a brief stop near South Korea.
These convoluted shipping routes demonstrate the lengths buyers and sellers will go to circumvent sanctions. The presence of Greek tankers at Russian Baltic ports, while technically legal under current rules, highlights the gaps in the sanctions regime that Moscow continues to exploit.
